Powell Backs Fed's QE Programme

Q: The market's functioning better, why haven't you reduced QE? What good would additional QE do for the economy at this point given low interest rates?

- A: Our asset purchases are serving both purposes, financial market function and support for economic activity....our purchases aided fin market function and are now supporting the economy; we haven't looked at reducing purchases. The asset purchases are just another very important piece of the policy stance that we have...By the way, removing just about the same amount of duration risk from private hands as QE3 did.

"Today we had a full discussion of the options around quantitative easing -- not quantitative easing, the asset purchase program...we understand the ways in which we can adjust the parameters of it to deliver more accommodation, if it turns out to be appropriate. Right now we think that this very large effective program is delivering about the right amount of accommodation and support for the markets. So it continues. "